Secretary General M. Guntur Hamzah with Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Heru Setiawan talking about information transparency in the Court in the Monitoring and Evaluation (Monev) presentation of the Central Information Commission (KIP) 2019 by KIP on Thursday (17/10/2019) in Jakarta. Photo by Humas MK/Bayu.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Constitutional Court (MK) participated in the Monitoring and Evaluation (Monev) presentation by the Central Information Commission (KIP) 2019 organized by KIP on Thursday (17/10/2019) in Jakarta. The results of this monev were an indicator of information transparency based on Law Number 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Openness, which will be reported to the President and the Indonesian Parliament. The panelist team will carry out the verification followed by a random presentation and visit of the public agencies and the award will be handed at the Presidential Palace. This presentation was attended by ministries, state institutions, and non-ministry government institutions (LN/LPNK), non-structural institutions (LNS), and provincial governments, state universities, state-owned enterprises, and political parties.

In his presentation, Secretary General of the Constitutional Court M. Guntur Hamzah, accompanied by the Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Heru Setiawan, conveyed the myth to ethos of public information disclosure in the Constitutional Court. "Regarding public information disclosure, we can say [everything] from myth to ethos, where the judiciary is a secret place, but thank God in the Constitutional Court [it is] in accordance with its vision, which was proclaimed by the founding fathers with the term modern judiciary," he explained before panelists KIP Commissioner on Regulation and Public Policy M. Syahyan, KIP Commissioner on Information Dispute Settlement Arif Adi Kuswardono, and Chairman of the Indonesian Television Journalists Association Yadi Hendriana.

Since the beginning, Guntur added, the first Chief Constitutional Justice Jimly Asshiddiqie had launched the vision of the Constitutional Court as modern and trusted judiciary. "We are actually judges in terms of carrying out our job, because one day we will make decisions. No matter how small, a decision is a step that must be taken, it must be made known, so it is not surprising if the Constitutional Court is likened to a ‘greenhouse,’ meaning that all [happening inside] can be seen," said Guntur.

Guntur also revealed the Court’s use of the Dynamic Archival Information System (SIKD), which received the 2019 National Best Archive Award from the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI). So much paper correspondence is now beginning to be abandoned by the Constitutional Court, which has shifted to SIKD. "Not only are letters digitized, but electronic signatures started to be used in the Constitutional Court. In this case, the Court has made a major breakthrough in saving paper and accelerating the work system," he stressed.

Along with the high number of potential petitions, Guntur added, the management of video conference facilities that meet the demands of justice seekers for long-distance trials has also been done. To date, the Constitutional Court Video has 42 conference facilities in various campuses in Indonesia.

Guntur also revealed that the Court received awards from the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI) for breaking three records: "Longest Nonstop Judicial Session" for the session where the Court listened to the testimony of witnesses and experts held by the Constitutional Court in the 2019 Presidential and Vice Presidential PHPU case on June 19-20, 2019; "Judicial Session with the Most Case Files" as the Court examined the 2019 PHPU cases with a record of 11,360 boxes; and "Most Transparent Trial Process" was awarded for the Court’s openness of its trial process, among others by broadcasting the proceedings live through live streaming on the Court’s website and YouTube channel.

KIP Commissioner on Regulation and Public Policy M. Syahyan appreciated the public information disclosure that had been carried out by the Constitutional Court in its court hearings. "I appreciate the disclosure of public information by the Constitutional Court, because the last legislative election hearing turned out to be a late night session, which was truly extraordinary, the longest court hearing in Indonesia," he said. (Bayu/LA)

Translated by: Yuniar Widiastuti